The Tag of Placemaking

I have worked in Long Island City (LIC) off of the 7 train Court Street station for almost a year. When I began working in that area, I observed a relative abundance of artistic graffiti; as the 7 train comes above ground you quickly notice distinct enclaves of art on the abandoned trains and the sides of buildings. Also, when you walk around the neighborhood, especially down the main commercial street, Vernon-Jackson Boulevard, beautiful graffiti masterpieces pop out at you. Everyone in the area knows about the spooky Halloween wall that features huge murals of imaginatively rendered clowns, pumpkins, and ghouls leering at you.

5Pointz was a 200,000-square-foot factory building, located at 45-46 Davis Street in Long Island City, that served as a curated mural space for graffiti artists. It featured hundreds of murals created by artists from across the five boroughs; in fact, it was called 5Pointz because it united artists from all the boroughs and beyond. The history of 5Pointz dates back to over 40 years ago when Jerry Wolkoff bought the building but never did anything with it. Then in the 1990s, he was approached by a group that cleans illegal graffiti off walls in the city, asking if the warehouse could serve as a safe space for graffiti artists to create their work. Wolkoff Agreed and 5Pointz flourished into a local and global community space with a strong sense of place.

5Pointz was once a landmark in LIC that defined the artistic and local community. It engaged local residents visually and physically; the space was often used to raise awareness about various issues and to inspire youth. Most importantly, it distinguished LIC on a global scale; people from all over the city and the world knew about the beautiful murals and community that could be found in LIC. Even so, the tide of gentrification slowly overtook the area, and in November 2014 5Pointz was demolished to be replaced by two apartment towers. This was devastating for the artists and the community on many fronts. Firstly, the warehouse was the location of Crane Street Studios, which offered below-market rent for studio space. Thus when the factory was demolished, artists lost inexpensive studios and one of the last cheap legal mural sites. The community also lost a defining feature of their neighborhood that served as a kind of social center, replaced by a mundane, placeless, glass-box of an apartment building. Lastly, 5Pointz was a big part of the 7 train rider community; it was an exciting sight to see on your way to and from work every day, making people look up from their phones momentarily.

Comments

Hey Nina,
While your post is really thoughtful, reading it made me upset about the dangers of gentrification. I remember before moving to New York hearing about 5 Pointz; I was so excited to visit it one day, but when I finally got the chance it was gone. I think it is really important to preserve places like this that bring not only the community together but that also bring people from all over the world together.

I enjoyed your post, but I am still thoroughly mourning the loss of 5 Pointz. It was one of the markers of New York City, and one of the truly unique gems we had. I personally enjoy street art and graffiti very much, so I was quite intrigued by what you set forth regarding graffiti as a form of placemaking. You may have already heard of it, but I would check out the Welling Court murals if you ever get a chance. Even if you’ve gone before, the murals change every so often, so you’ll get a completely different set of murals and graffiti if you go with enough time in between!